a valid cause for the non-issuance of a protection order.12 Notwithstanding, however, we still find no
merit to declare RA 9262 unconstitutional.
Petitioner particularly directs his constitutional attack on Section 15 of RA 9262 contending that had
there been no ex parte issuance of the TPO, he would have been afforded due process of law and
had properly presented his side on the matter; that the questioned provision simply encourages
arbitrary enforcement repulsive to basic constitutional rights which affects his life, liberty and
property.
We are not impressed.
Section 15 of RA 9262 provides:
SECTION 15. Temporary Protection Orders. – Temporary Protection Orders (TPOs) refers to the
protection order issued by the court on the date of filing of the application after ex parte
determination that such order should be issued. A court may grant in a TPO any, some or all of the
reliefs mentioned in this Act and shall be effective for thirty (30) days. The court shall schedule a
hearing on the issuance of a [Permanent Protection Order] PPO prior to or on the date of the
expiration of the TPO. The court shall order the immediate personal service of the TPO on the
respondent by the court sheriff who may obtain the assistance of law enforcement agents for the
service. The TPO shall include notice of the date of the hearing on the merits of the issuance of a
PPO.
In Garcia v. Drilon,13 wherein petitioner therein argued that Section 15 of RA 9262 is a violation of the
due process clause of the Constitution, we struck down the challenge and held:
A protection order is an order issued to prevent further acts of violence against women and their
children, their family or household members, and to grant other necessary reliefs. Its purpose is to
safeguard the offended parties from further harm, minimize any disruption in their daily life and
facilitate the opportunity and ability to regain control of their life.
The scope of reliefs in protection orders is broadened to ensure that the victim or offended party is
afforded all the remedies necessary to curtail access by a perpetrator to the victim. This serves to
safeguard the victim from greater risk of violence; to accord the victim and any designated family or
household member safety in the family residence, and to prevent the perpetrator from committing
acts that jeopardize the employment and support of the victim. It also enables the court to award
temporary custody of minor children to protect the children from violence, to prevent their abduction
by the perpetrator and to ensure their financial support.
The rules require that petitions for protection order be in writing, signed and verified by the petitioner
thereby undertaking full responsibility, criminal or civil, for every allegation therein. Since "time is of
the essence in cases of VAWC if further violence is to be prevented," the court is authorized to issue
ex parte a TPO after raffle but before notice and hearing when the life, limb or property of the victim
is in jeopardy and there is reasonable ground to believe that the order is necessary to protect the
victim from the immediate and imminent danger of VAWC or to prevent such violence, which is
about to recur.
There need not be any fear that the judge may have no rational basis to issue an ex parte order. The
victim is required not only to verify the allegations in the petition, but also to attach her witnesses'
affidavits to the petition.